By now, I think we all know that drugstore brands have a habit of releasing dupes of popular higher-end beauty products, and, undoubtedly, we love them for it. But what does a dupe make? That's what I'll be exploring today, putting up L'Oreal's Ideal Soft (Skin Perfection) Micellar Solution against the famous Bioderma Sensibio (Crealine) H2O one.

Classifying the weather here as gloomy would be an understatement: in fact it's been so dark and rainy lately, that yesterday I had to turn on the lights at 2:30 in the afternoon! And, that, to me, seemed like the perfect opportunity to test out the new Korres "Winter Gloom" Nail Colour collection for A/W 2013-14! Yes, the name of the collection fits the weather to a T, but make no mistake, there's nothing remotely miserable or depressing about these shades! Proof, of course, provided below:

The latest "tag" that's been making the rounds, is the "What's In My Shower" tag, and, since the lovely Irene from Blushing Loves tagged me to do it, I simply had to oblige!

Now, I have no clue if there are any rules to this tag, and if I were to be literal about it I'd only be showing you 3 or 4 products (hello tiny shower with no storage unit!), so I figured I'd also include some hair and body products that normally sit in the bathroom cupboard, to give you a complete idea of what my full showering routine looks like!

Among the many products that I try out each year, a certain number of them don't make it on the blog, and, in most cases that's not because they don't deserve the mention, but mainly because my fickle brain is already on to something new. Which is exactly what happened to my purchases from the Camomile cleansing range by The Body Shop, that was released here this past spring: I purchased the Waterproof Eye & Lip Make-Up Remover and the Sumptuous Cleansing Butter, but I never showed them the love they deserved! I am, however, using these products a little more regularly lately, so I thought it was time to properly review them!

I normally don't hold on to empty products, not even for blogging purposes (I'm more of a "use up & chuck away" kinda gal), but seeing as some of you requested more "empties" posts, I thought I'd reconsider! It is, after all, the best way to share my final thoughts about a product and let you all know if I plan to repurchase or not!

Far be it from me to analyze the importance of Vitamin C in one's skincare routine: a ton of skincare experts out there have already praised its many benefits, which include a brighter complexion, free radical elimination, and stimulation of collagen production. What the experts don't really say though, is just how hard the quest for a good Vitamin C serum can be, especially since we're dealing with an ingredient that needs to be researched quite a bit beforehand!

Apparently, my recent beauty haul, didn't exactly quench my thirst for new beauty stuffs! Truth be told, I did need some face masks and some hair products, but I couldn't say no to a little something extra (as you do when you don't pay super close attention to your spending habits, that is)!

So, here's the second round of my beauty haulage (I vow to slow down after this, after all the holidays aren't that far away and I reallly need to start saving for a dSLR):

As I'm sure many of you already know, All The Vanity has a presence on Facebook, in fact so far it's had two: a profile and a page. Unfortunately, managing both timelines is impossible for me at the moment, so I decided to simplify things a bit: I shortly plan to unpublish my Facebook page and only keep posting on my profile. And seing as some of you requested some more fashion & lifestyle action, I plan to incorporate that into my wall feed, without having to make a separate blog post on here!

So, makes sure to follow this link below and befriend me, if you aren't doing so already!

Being the nail polish hoarder that I am, I rarely get excited these days by new nail polish releases: I usually already own a similar enough shade, so I find it a lot more sensible to "shop my stash" and use up what I got. OPI's San Francisco collection, however, and especially its metallic shades, made me reconsider - I mean, seriously, who can resist some holo metallic goodness (I did mention I'm a hoarder, yes?)!

October flew by here on All the Vanity, and November didn't exactly greet me with the best intentions, as I'm fighting a hellish chest infection at the moment (I literally feel as though a huge hand is squeezing my tracheia), while Mr. "All the Vanity" is recovering from a sprained ankle. Suffice to say that trying out new beauty products wasn't exactly a top priority during the past month - so, what actually made it on my favorites' list can be narrowed down to this bare minimum: